Alone
In 2018 alone, 58 councils faced at least one care home closure and nearly a third saw home care providers stop trading.
The social care workforce is also experiencing a chronically high turnover – estimated at 30.7 per cent each year.
And undelivered care needs have soared as more pensioners are forced to cope alone.
In 2016, nearly one in eight people aged 65 and over were estimated to be struggling to carry out at least one essential daily task.
By 2018 this was one in seven – 1.4million – and 300,000 of those were believed to need help with three or more activities, such as getting out of bed, washing and using the toilet.
Age UK’s report Health and Care of Older People in England 2019 describes the social care system as stuck in “purgatory”, while demand rises daily. Director Caroline Abrahams said: “Things are so bad in some places that it is becoming impossible to source care, however much money you have. As we look into next year, we are seeing the prospect of total system collapse in the worst-affected areas.
“Social service directors have been saying they will have to make more cuts if they’re to come in on budget in 2020/21. We are calling on the Chancellor to give local authorities a significant sum.
“This is not a substitute for the long-term plan and sustainable funding model social care badly needs, but the essential first step that millions of older people simply cannot do without.”
Taking into account older people funding their care and NHS cash, total spending on adult social care in 2017/18 stood at £21.7billion – a real-terms cut of more than £½billion since 2010/11.
Of England’s 7,500 postcode districts, about 2,200 have no residential care beds and 4,600 have no nursing ones, Age UK says. The North-east, South-west and East are particularly badly hit.
Charles Tallack, of the Health Foundation charity, said a fairer social care system was needed to protect more people against current “catastrophic care costs”.
Meanwhile, Sally Copley, of Alzheimer’s Society called for a £2.4billion NHS dementia fund for sufferers and families.
She said: “The social care crisis is a dementia crisis, with three-fifths of people receiving home care and 70 per cent of people in care homes having dementia.”
The Department of Health and Social Care said: “We have given local authorities access to nearly £4billion more dedicated funding for adult social care this year. The Prime Minister is committed to fixing the social care system. We will outline proposals in due course.”